Becoming a Malfoy
by MemberOfDumbledoresArmy
Summary: Isla Paddington has kept a secret from her best friends for four years; she lives with the Malfoy family. With her secret slowly starting to crumble, Isla finds herself in crazy situations she never thought she would be in.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: With my other story, The Dragon Club, being close to finished, I thought I would start another one. This one is also a next-generation fic, because I love the next gen! I am also planning on writing two different Marauder's stories sometime in the future. This is the first introductory chapter of this story, so please let me know what you think! **

_The young girl pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders and continued stumbling blindly through the dark forest. The only sounds were the crunching of the twigs beneath her feet and her own broken sobs. A branch caught on the hood of her cloak, pulling it down, and her golden blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders._

_She forcefully pulled the hood back up and carried on. How far was she from her destination? She didn't know. All of her worldly possessions were packed up carefully in her backpack, which was weighing her down significantly. _

_Her most prized possession was the emerald cloak she was currently wearing, because it was a gift from her best friend. They had met by chance, having lived in the same area. At first she had been terrified, because he had seen her secret; he had seen her perform magic. But when he said that he could do magic as well, that his whole family was magic, she was astounded._

_That had been almost five years previously. She came to a clearing and the moonlight glistened beautifully off of the grass and ferns. Now she knew she was close to his house. Would his family turn her away? They had always been so kind to her. Perhaps she should feel guilty about this, but her emotions were so jumbled up at the moment that she wasn't sure if one of those emotions was guilt or not._

_She saw the tall iron gates and let out a wail, flinging herself toward them, griping the cold iron tightly in her small fists. They swung open at her touch, and she almost fell in her haste to get inside the yard. Feeling weaker than she had ever felt in her life, she ran using all of her strength to propel herself forward. Finally, she reached the huge front doors._

_Before she could even knock, they were being opened by a tall lean man with white blonde hair that was a startling contrast from the black suit he wore. "I'm sorry," she whispered, holding out a thick piece of parchment to the man. He took it with a frown, and the girl collapsed; fainting on his front porch._

….

"Isla!" her name was being shouted, and the person doing the shouting was about to get a swift kick in the pants if he didn't shut his mouth. She was tired and the last thing she wanted right then was to get up and go down to eat breakfast.

"Come on," oh great, now the boy was in the room with her. She moaned feebly and pulled the thick duvet over her head, snuggling deeper into the soft mattress. "We're going to be late if you don't get up."

Sighing, the boy tore open the curtains that were around her bed, letting bright sunlight spill in, but her head was hidden under the covers. He grabbed her ankles and pulled hard. She let out a shriek of fright as her body slid out of the bed, spilling onto the carpeted floor, still tangled in the duvet.

"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY!" she shouted.

Knowing he was in trouble, Scorpius skipped out of the room laughing, with Isla right behind him. He was fast, but she was faster. She sprung at him, and together the two of them toppled down the stairs, each of them taking many hard hits along the way.

They landed in a heap at the bottom, moaning and rubbing their sore spots, "You are a fucking bitch, Isla."

"Me? You're the one who dragged me out of bed, you wanker!"

"It's almost nine o'clock! The train leaves at eleven, you needed to get up," he said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ah, nothing like waking up to the dulcet tones of my children arguing," said Draco Malfoy as he came into the room, sipping a cup of hot tea.

"She started it!"

"I did _not_! He's lying, Draco!"

"Dad! You know me better than that, I wouldn't lie!"

"Yes you would, you Slytherin prat!"

"Oi! At least I'm not a goody-goody lion!"

"You're just jealous that you weren't brave enough to be put in Gryffindor!"

"Ha! As if I would want to be put into a house that was all brawn and no brain."

"We have brains, you nitwit!"

"Bitch!"

"Tosser!"

"Slag!"

"BE QUIET!" Astoria Malfoy had entered the room, her long chestnut brown hair messy, like it always was in the morning, and her blue eyes blazing dangerously. Draco was still chuckling, standing off to the side.

"Sorry, Mum," mumbled Scorpius.

"Sorry, Astoria," Isla said, not be outdone by Scorpius' brown-nosing.

"It's fine, I know how you two are. Now go upstairs and finish packing your trunks. We're leaving here in one hour!"

Still grumpy, the two fifteen-year-olds ran back up the staircase and into their separate rooms, each of them slamming their bedroom doors for effect. "What were we thinking, adopting her?" Astoria said with a small smile of amusement.

"That we never wanted peace and quiet again?" suggested Draco as he moved to wrap his arms around his wife.

"I'm glad we did it. I love her very much," said Astoria quietly. Every day she was thankful for the life she had. Draco, Scorpius, and Isla were the best family a witch could ask for.

"We all do. Especially Scorpius. He took to being a brother with amazing finesse. Can you believe it's been four years already?"

Smiling happily, the couple went to the dining room and began to eat the breakfast that their house elf had prepared.

…

Once the Malfoy family had arrived at the train station, Isla took off running toward the train, but Scorpius grabbed the back of her robes, pulling her back hard and using it as leverage to propel himself forward.

"GIT!" she screamed.

"TWAT!" she heard in reply. Grumbling and straightening her robes, she made her way toward the train with a bit less enthusiasm than she had previously.

"Iz! Izzy!" she heard her best friend, Roxanne Weasley calling for her.

Isla groaned, hating when people called her 'Izzy.' To her, it sounded like 'Lizzie' and she most definitely hated that name. Roxie wasn't her only best friend. There was also Louis Weasley and Asher Longbottom.

Roxanne tackled her, but before she could fall to the ground, the broad and stable Louis Weasley was on the other side of her, letting out an 'oof' noise as she collided into him. "Thanks, Louie," she said as she patted his Quidditch-toned chest.

"Any time, Iz," he said with a laugh. "Let her go, Rox, you're suffocating her."

"But I haven't seen her in two weeks, Lou! _Two weeks!_"

Isla Paddington hugged Roxanne in return, both girls squealing excitedly at being reunited. Isla never told anyone about her arrangement with Scorpius' family, because she didn't want any sympathy or pity. When she had received her letter from Hogwarts at the age of eleven, her muggle parents had told her she wasn't allowed to go; witchcraft was the work of the devil according to them.

Isla argued with them to no avail. Finally, they sent her to her bedroom and told her she was grounded for even wanting to learn witchcraft. Without them knowing, she packed her most important things, and slipped out the window. Scorpius Malfoy was her best friend at the time, and she went to his mansion, not knowing where else to go. His parents had unofficially adopted her.

She had left her parents a note, of course, telling them that she was a witch, whether they approved of that or not, and she was going to a place where she would be appreciated and loved for who (and what) she was. Isla hadn't talked to her parents since that day.

Now, as she began her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, she felt like she was going home. People around Hogwarts knew that Isla and Scorpius weren't exactly enemies, but they tended to avoid each other at school simply because Isla wanted it that way. She loved Scorpius more than she loved her own flesh and blood brothers (of which she had three; one older, two younger).

Whenever her friends wanted to hang out, she asked to go to their homes instead of having them come to hers, for the mere sake of keeping her secret that she was the unofficially adopted daughter of the Malfoy family. Likewise, when Scorpius' friends came over to the mansion, Isla stayed far away from them, and they would never have known that another teenager lived in that house.

"Why are your parents never here?" Roxanne grumbled as she glanced around, looking for adults who may be Isla's parents.

"I told you," she rolled her eyes, "they're muggles and they don't like me coming to a wizard school, so whenever this time of year rolls around, they stuff me into a muggle taxicab and send me on my way."

"Finally!" Asher approached them, dragging his trunk, panting heavily as he found his friends.

Ignoring his arrival, Roxanne continued her scrutinizing of Isla's mysterious family, "If they don't approve, then why do you always have the best of everything? The newest Silver Arrow broomstick, the solid gold scale set for potions, fancy new robes every semester," she was ticking off her fingers like she was counting a list.

"Rox," groaned Isla, "just because they don't approve doesn't mean they're not rich."

Roxanne started to pull Isla toward the train, calling back over her shoulder, "Oi! Lou! Ash! Bring our trunks, will you?" They went into their usual compartment and were soon joined by the boys, who were each struggling with two trunks.

"I'll be right back," said Isla quietly, knowing there was only about five minutes until the train would leave, "I need to use the restroom," she scampered off of the train and ran to where Draco and Astoria stood, waving to Scorpius.

"Why don't you ever introduce us to your friends?" Astoria sounded hurt.

"I've told you," Isla said with a small smile, "I don't want them to know that I'm, you know, an orphan mooching off of the Malfoys."

"Isla Ann!" scolded Astoria.

Draco frowned, "I understand. But Isla, if they are your real friends, they'll accept you no matter what kind of situation you're in. They won't pity you like you fear they will. We love you, have a good term."

Isla hugged both of them, kissing them swiftly on the cheeks, then left.

Scorpius Malfoy was sitting with his two best mates, Albus Potter and Ryder Zabini. Scorpius waved to his parents, a bit embarrassedly, then turned to his friends and asked if they fancied a game of Exploding Snap to pass the time on the train.

"Is that Isla Paddington?" asked Albus, looking past Scorpius at the platform, "why is she hugging your parents?"

"Oh," Scorpius swallowed loudly and then lied, "my mum and her mum met this summer and became pretty good friends. Isla got close to my mum."

"Hm," said Albus, watching as Isla scurried back toward the train, "not exactly bad looking, is she?" Scorpius felt his blood boil and he suddenly wanted to punch Albus; how dare he look at his sister that way!

"Not exactly bad looking?" mocked Ryder, "she's one of the hottest girls at Hogwarts. Hell, Albus, aside from the girls in your family, she is the hottest girl in Hogwarts. Which means that she is the hottest girl who you could date without participating in incest."

Albus laughed, but Scorpius scowled. "You don't fancy her, do you, Scorp?" asked Al as he watched his friend's face go from its usual pale color to a startling shade of red at the topic of their conversation.

"Bloody hell, no," said Scorpius disgustedly. How did he explain that she was like a sister to him? He couldn't.

"Well maybe you could introduce me?" Albus suggested, wiggling his eyebrows, "Since she knows your mum and all."

"You two have been introduced before," said Scorpius while rolling his eyes, "her best friends are two of your cousins."

"I just thought you might be able to put in a good word or something – wait. How do you know that my cousins are friends with her?" asked Al with a frown.

"I'm observant, Potter. Fuck, what's with the interrogation this morning?"

Albus backed off, "Sorry, mate, didn't mean to get your knickers in a twist, I just didn't realize you paid that much attention to Roxanne and Louis."

"Maybe he does fancy Paddington," teased Ryder.

"Don't be thick," said Al with a laugh, "Scorp is still head over heels in love with Rose, isn't that right?"

Scorpius grimaced; it was so like his friends to take the mickey out of him for liking a girl. He couldn't help it if Rose Weasley was the only girl in the school who challenged him intellectually while also being the hottest witch he had ever seen.

"Yeah, I still fancy Rose," Scorpius finally admitted grudgingly. His friends made kissy noises while he shuffled the deck of cards and began to deal; an exciting game of Exploding Snap should distract them from that conversation.

Once they finally reached the Great Hall, Isla was famished. She had been so engrossed in her conversation with her friends that she had completely missed the lunch trolley! Practically running to Gryffindor Table, she threw herself onto the bench and waited impatiently for the Sorting to start.

"Merlin, Iz," grumbled Louis as he tousled his reddish-blonde hair and plopped down next to her, "Quidditch practice hasn't even started yet and you've already put me to shame by out running me to the Great Hall."

Isla laughed and glanced up and down the table for the rest of her team mates. James Potter, sixth year, was the Quidditch Captain and star Chaser. Isla was also a Chaser, along with Louis. The Beaters on the Gryffindor team were James Potter's best mates; Fred Weasley (Roxie's brother), and Evander Wood, whose dad played Quidditch professionally. Their Keeper was Rose Weasley, and their Seeker was Lily Potter.

As she looked down sadly at her empty plate, a piece of parchment appeared. Isla picked it up cautiously and opened it to find the familiar scrawl of their Quidditch Captain. The note read:

_Isla,_

_Team meeting tonight in the RoR. Yes, it is required. No, you're not allowed to bring Roxanne. Meeting starts at 8. See you then._

_JP_

She rolled her eyes and stuffed the note into her pocket. James Potter couldn't fool her, she knew this wasn't a team 'meeting,' but more like a team 'drinking,' as Louis liked to call them. James said that it was important for the team to "bond" and his idea of bonding involved a lot of firewhiskey, no adult supervision, and team-only parties.

However, their fearless captain knew her all too well and had anticipated her two questions (if she _had _to go and if so, then could she bring her best friend?), so maybe these team bonding sessions really did work. Contemplating this, she barely even noticed that the First Years had now entered the Great Hall.

"Oh, they're so cute and little," said Roxanne gleefully.

"Twitchy little midgets. Don't let them fool you, Roxie, they're evil," said Asher ominously.

"But they're _adorable_," she argued imploringly, "I mean, just look at that little one with the blonde mop of hair! I could just pinch his perfect little cheeks!"

"My cousin, the pedophile," mumbled Louis. Roxanne pinched him hard. "Ow! That hurt, you bint!" he said, rubbing the left side of his chest, giving the impression that Roxanne had pinched a particularly sensitive spot.

"Shh, it's starting," said Asher, practically bouncing with excitement. He had always loved the Sorting Hat's song.

_Don't be fooled, young friends of mine,_

_By the way I look so frayed_

_I'm wiser than an owl_

_And always unafraid._

_Try me on, I'll sort you out,_

_Put you where you belong_

_You can't hide your thoughts from me_

_And I am never wrong._

_Four houses here at Hogwarts thrive,_

_Four places you might go_

_There's a spot for each of you_

_And I will make it so._

_If you are loyal and work hard_

_You'll go to Helga's house_

_Hufflepuffs are always fair_

_And are meeker than a mouse._

_Your mind may be above and beyond_

_Just like the eagles soar_

_Then I'll put you in Ravenclaw_

_Where reading's not a chore._

_For those who are brave and just_

_Gryffindor is for you_

_Chivalrous young lads go here_

_And ladies who are true._

_Perhaps you are ambitious_

_Deceivers who want fame_

_Slytherin is where you'll go_

_For I know your cunning game._

_These are the houses four_

_For me to choose between_

_And once I'm done, we'll have a feast_

_You can lick the platter clean._

_Step right up, whoever's first_

_Place me on your head_

_There's nothing I haven't seen before;_

_No mind I've never read._

_Your secrets are all safe with me_

_I'll never tell a soul_

_Now's the time you've been waiting for_

_It's time to call the roll!_

Everyone clapped and cheered as the hat bowed (as best as it could) to each of the four house tables and then to the line of nervous First Years waiting to be sorted. Professor Chang started calling names off of a long piece of parchment.

Isla was only partially paying attention as she kept glancing back wistfully at her empty plate. That was until she heard the name, "Paddington, Eli." Without thinking, Isla leapt to her feet to get a better look.

It was the small blonde-haired boy who Roxanne had been talking about earlier, and now that Isla was paying attention, she saw what she had failed to see before. "Iz, what's wrong?" asked Roxanne, tugging on the sleeve of her friend's robe.

Isla didn't reply, just stared as the boy walked shakily up to the hat and placed it on. For a moment there was silence and then, "GRYFFINDOR!" Isla had never cheered so loudly. She was jumping up and down, waving her arms and clapping. The boy spotted her and ran to her, a huge smile on his face, and his arms wide open. He slammed into her hard, but she didn't care. For the first time in four years, she was with her little brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, here is chapter two! Now I will go on to work on the next chapter of The Dragon Club (if you have not read it, you should check it out)! To answer a few questions…**

**The pairing in this story will not be Scorpius/Isla, but they are the two main characters and I don't want to give anything away (like who they will be with) so I just set them as the pairing. Also, a lot will be revealed in this chapter about how her family reacted to her leaving and her brother being magical. **

**In order of age from oldest to youngest, her family goes like this: Owen, Isla, Archer, Eli. Owen is 17, Isla is 15, Archer is 13 and Eli is 11. Now on to the story :D**

**WARNING: alcohol use in this chapter!**

….

Isla sat back down, realizing that almost all of the eyes in the Great Hall were on her as she clung to Eli, her eyes overflowing in tears. She brushed the tears away, and stroked Eli's blonde hair, which was so much like her own. Completely ignoring her friends, she asked her brother, "Eli…how…?"

"I got a letter, just like you did, Iz!" he said happily, that was when she noticed that he was crying, too. "I've really missed you, Isla. We all have. Mum and dad thought for sure that-"

"Okay!" she clapped a hand over his mouth before he said too much, "Yay, you're a Gryffindor, I'm so proud of you, yadda yadda yadda, let's eat now!" and she dug ravenously into the food she had been so looking forward to.

"Um, Iz?" she looked up at Roxanne, with noodles falling halfway out of her mouth. Roxanne chuckled at her friend's face and then asked, "Why didn't you tell us that your brother got a Hogwarts letter?"

"Also," added Asher, "why is it that you rarely talk about your brothers at all? I had actually completely forgotten that you even had siblings."

"Well, I, er, wanted to surprise you! Surprise, everyone, my brother is at Hogwarts! ….yay…" she faked a smile and went back to eating.

"Hey," said Roxanne as she extended her hand politely toward Eli, "I'm Roxie, you know, Isla's best friend. I'm sure you've heard a lot about me," she flipped her dark brown hair over shoulder and smiled expectantly.

Eli took her hand and said, "It's, um, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Asher," he also extended his hand toward the small boy, "I think your sister only hangs out with me because I help her with her homework." Isla punched Asher lightly, who just laughed.

"My name is Louis Weasley. I'm the amazing Quidditch star that Isla is madly in love with, but don't worry, I'm used to the attention. She's just another adoring fan girl."

"Lou!" Isla said angrily, swatting his shoulder.

"Well, I'm Eli, Isla's youngest brother."

"Welcome to Gryffindor, kid," said Louis with a smirk.

"I like it already. The food here is fantastic."

After a slightly awkward meal, Isla took hold of Eli and dragged him to the Room of Requirement. She strode in front of the wall three times until a door appeared. "Wow!" Eli couldn't stop looking around the castle, he was having a hard time taking everything in.

"Yeah, magic's great, get your butt in here!" Isla pulled him into the room, closing the door behind her, "Now what's going on? How are you here? Tell me what happened after I left."

"That was four years ago, Iz. I don't even really remember it much. I remember mum and dad crying a lot, they called the police, but they couldn't find you anywhere. You were just another runaway to them. Owen didn't talk to anyone for weeks. He was really messed up. You know Archer, though, he went on as if nothing had changed. Where have you been?"

"Do you remember Scorpius Malfoy?" Isla asked carefully.

"Of course! You two were inseparable. I was only seven when you left, and whenever I thought of you, Scorpius was always in the memory as well."

"I've been living with his family ever since I left home, but nobody knows that. Everyone here thinks that I still live at my house with my family, and you can't tell them any different, okay?"

"Why?"

"I don't want my friends knowing that I'm a…runaway. Did Mum and Dad really let you come here?" she asked softly. For some reason, she was hoping that he would say no; that he had had to run away as well.

"Not exactly," he replied timidly, "Owen has his own flat now, in London, and when I got my letter I moved in with him. So I had to run away, but I didn't just abandon my family," he gave her a very pointed look.

"I didn't have a choice," she pleaded, "Owen was still living at home when I was there, and Mum and Dad weren't going to let me come here."

"I know," said Eli, "but you really tore our family apart, Isla."

"No, I didn't! They did!"

"I meant that you leaving really did a number on our family. Owen moved out when he was sixteen. He hates Mum and Dad and hasn't spoken to them in a year. Then I got my letter. I asked Mum and Dad to at least consider letting me come here, and I overheard them talking about it. Dad said he didn't want to lose another kid, but he wasn't just going to let me traipse off to some 'school for freaks' either. Once I heard that their decision was no, I left. Just like you. I didn't tell them or anything. I just packed up and went to Owen's flat."

"He's letting you stay there?"

"Oh, more than that! He took me to Diagon Alley and bought all of my school supplies! He said he was proud of me. We were on the platform this morning, looking for the train, and he saw you, but you didn't see us. He started to cry. You were practically tackled by that girl, Roxie, and you were laughing and smiling and Owen said you looked happy and he was glad."

"He was?" she asked softly.

"Yes, we both were. He's been looking for you non-stop. He thought you must've been adopted somehow by a wizarding family because he even hired a private investigator and they couldn't find anything about you."

"Wow. I never knew. I figured you all hated me and felt the same way as Mum and Dad."

"You sure are thick, Iz. Archer is the only one who agreed with our parents. Owen thought that you hated us, and he didn't want to confront you on the platform today, but he wanted me to ask you if you'd come to his place for Christmas."

"Of course!" Isla didn't know what to say or do. This was too much emotional stress for her to deal with in one day; her brother was a wizard! Owen loved her and missed her! She would spend Christmas with two of her brothers!

Before she could say anything else, the door swung open and Louis walked in with Lily. "What's going on?" asked Lou.

"Just some sibling bonding time, you know," Isla stood up and ruffled Eli's hair just like she used to when he was little.

"Hi, I'm Lily Potter, I'm on the Quidditch team with your sister," Lily said kindly.

"Er, Quidditch?" he asked nervously.

"Wizard sport," Louis replied quickly, "you'll catch on fast enough. We're about to have our Quidditch team drinking now, so you must go on up to Gryffindor tower with all of the other good little Firsties!"

"He doesn't know where the common room is," Isla said, "I'll take him up there."

Once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Eli was practically vibrating with renewed excitement, "I can't believe you've been lucky enough to have been here for four years already! Isla, this place is _excellent_! Magic is amazing!" they hugged and she kissed the top of his head before saying the password and letting him into the common room.

Deep in thought, Isla didn't notice that she was being followed until a person sprung out from the shadows, grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her into an alcove. "What the hell, Scorp?" she snapped.

"Your brother's at Hogwarts?"

"Looks like it."

"Eli, right? I remember him. Cute little kid."

"Yeah, thanks, but I'm kind of late for a Gryffindor Quidditch meeting…"

"Isla, how are you?" Scorpius, knowing her better than anyone else in the world, understood what she was feeling in that moment. He took her face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes, just the way he always did when he wanted to know if she was telling the truth or not.

"I'm…well, I'm a mess. I'm confused and really emotionally charged at the moment, but I'll be fine," she told him truthfully, "I already told Eli that nobody can know that I don't live at home, so I'm not worried about him ratting me out. I just worry about him in general, you know? I've thought about him and Owen and Archer every single day since I left. It's just so good to see him. I'm so happy to see him, Scorp."

Scorpius pulled her into a hug and asked softly, "Will he need a place to live? I can owl my parents first thing in the morning…"

"Scorpius Malfoy, you are wonderful!" She hugged him even tighter, "but no, he doesn't. He is living with Owen, who apparently has his own place now."

"Wow," Scorpius felt his heart constrict painfully. He had always thought of Isla as his sister, but she had _three _other brothers. Who was he to compete with that? How could he possibly expect her to love him as much as she loved them?

"Yeah, I know, I'm surprised as well," she pulled back, her arms still around him, and saw the look on his face. She knew that look. "Aw, Scorp, don't be jealous. I'm not going to leave your family ever. I'm a Malfoy now, through and through."

"But Iz, they're your brothers-"

"You. Are my brother, Scorpius. You've always taken care of me. I think that Owen wants to make amends for having been a shitty brother in the past, and Eli was too young to be anything but an annoying little git, so maybe we will become close now. Then again, maybe we won't. But you and I will always be close. You're stuck with me for life, sucker."

Laughing, he pulled her in for another hug, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

_FLASH_

"Nobody will believe this," Elizabeth Creevey, aka Lizzie, was standing in front of the alcove, her camera held up in front of her face, "Scorpius Malfoy and Gryffindor's Isla Paddington caught in an alcove!"

"Give me that camera," Scorpius growled, lunging for her. However, this annoying seventh year was not to be intimidated. She let out a quick squeal and ran away from them. "Damn it. I'm sorry, Iz. That picture will be all around school tomorrow."

"Honestly, after the day I've had, I don't even care. If everyone sees it tomorrow, then I'll deal with it tomorrow."

Scorpius smirked at her, "There's the Iz I know and love! You little procrastinator!"

"Hm, I wonder who I got that from, brother of mine?"

He kissed her cheek briefly and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, _Sis_."

"See you tomorrow, Scorp!"

"Oh wait! Iz!"

"What?"

"You share a dorm with Rose Weasley, don't you?"

"Ugh, please don't tell me you still fancy her! It's been years, Scorp, _years!_ Either ask the girl out or move on already!" Isla pleaded, feeling much more like herself now that she was with Scorpius.

"I plan to, eventually," he said evasively, "we are both Prefects this year, you know."

"Merlin help us!"

"Oh shut up, Iz. I just meant that maybe you could say something nice about me to her or try to encourage her to give me a chance or something. I mean, her favorite cousin is my best friend after all."

"I'll try," Isla told him sincerely.

"Great! Have a fun time drinking your weight in firewhiskey!" he said, knowing exactly what was really going on when the Gryffindor Quidditch team was having a meeting.

"Oh, I will," she said this a bit too innocently and it caught his attention.

"You'd better not let any of them near you. I will rip their throats out if they try to take advantage of your drunken state."

She pushed his shoulder playfully, "Go on to the dungeons, Scorp, and don't worry about me. The boys on the Quidditch team know better than to try to get into my skirt. Last time they tried that, they just about had their balls hexed off."

"Good – wait, WHAT? They have tried before? I'll kill them! Who was it? It was Louis wasn't it? I knew he had more on his mind than just friendship with you!"

Laughing, she said, "No, it wasn't Lou. It was James, actually, but that was a year ago, and he was rather drunk."

"Just…watch yourself, alright?"

"You know I will," she smiled at him sweetly and they went their separate ways.

When Isla entered the Room of Requirement, the first thing she heard was James Potter saying fiercely, "Absolutely not!"

"James Sirius Potter, I am in fourth year! What year were you in when you first drank firewhiskey?"

"That has nothing to do with this conversation, Lil! I'm not letting my little sister take shots!"

"She is on the team, mate," Evander was arguing for her.

"I don't bloody care! What happens if she gets caught and then they send an owl home to our parents? They'll blame me, and it will be all my fault that Lily was caught out bed after curfew drunk!"

"I won't get caught, James, you have the Map for Godric's sake!"

"Oh, just let her drink with us," Isla said as a way of announcing her presence, "eventually, James, you're going to get too drunk to monitor your little sister and she'll just start drinking then, so you might as well let her start now."

Isla walked over, poured two shot glasses of firewhiskey, handed one to Lily and downed one herself. "Cheers," she said with a slight cough. She hadn't had any alcohol since June and it burned down her throat.

"Someone wants to get sloshed tonight," said Louis as he reached around her for a glass.

"Most definitely," she said in agreement.

"This year, guys," said an intoxicated James over two hours later, "we are going to slaaauuugghhhtteerrr Slytherin. If Li-" he hiccupped, "Lily can improve her time by like three or maybe four seconds," he nodded, "she can definitely catch the snitch before Malfoy."

"Oh, are we actually talking about Quidditch now?" asked Evander as he looked into his empty shot glass with a frown, as if unsure how the alcohol had disappeared. His messy light brown hair was falling in front of his deep brown eyes and he kept trying to blow it out of his line of sight.

Isla and Lily weren't even listening to James, they were sitting off in a corner giggling. Rose, the only sober one, was curled up by herself reading a book. The boys were all sitting in a circle on the floor. Their conversation had included many topics and had finally landed on Quidditch.

"Of course we're talking about Quidditch!" replied James, sounding surprised that Evander would even ask that question, "this is a team meeting after all!"

Rose snorted and clucked her tongue in disbelief. Fred raised his glass, "To the best Quidditch team meetings at Hogwarts!"

"Hear hear!" echoed everyone except Rose.

Remembering what Scorpius had said, Isla stumbled her way over to Rose and asked, "Hey, Rose, what do you think about Malfoy?"

Rose didn't even look up from her book, "I think he's a foul womanizing git. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you really know him that well. I mean, I know he's friends with your Albus…er…your cousin, you know, Albus," Isla was trying very hard to think straight, but that was near impossible by that point, "but do you ever actually talk to him?"

"Not really. I try to avoid him as much as possible."

"He's not so bad, really," said Isla, "you should have a real conversation with him some time."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Rose. Even though her tone was obviously patronizing, Isla seemed satisfied and made her way back over to Lily, who was dozing off against the wall.

"Oh. My. Merlin!" declared Louis, "You lot! Check this out! Evander made vodka-soaked licorice wands!"

"Eeep!" Isla ran over to them and took one eagerly. "These are great!"

"They should sell them like this on the train," agreed Lily.

"Rosie, you want one?" James called to her, waving a handful above his head like a floppy licorice bouquet.

"No, thank you," she replied stiffly.

"Aw, come on," James stood up and walked over to her, waving a licorice wand in her face, "You know you want one," he jabbed it at her and it hit her nose, almost going up her nostril. "Whoops," James laughed and began poking her in the nose with it again.

"James Sirius Potter! Stop that!" Rose batted away the licorice wand angrily. When he didn't stop, she snatched it away from him and began beating him with it.

"Oi! Stop it, you crazy bint!" James screamed, shielding his head with his arms. He ran, and Rose chased after him, continuously beating him with the vodka-soaked treat.

"I don't know why I even come to these stupid meetings!" she screeched, "all you do is get piss drunk! We don't even talk about Quidditch!"

"Actually," Evander corrected, acting entirely casual, as if it were perfectly normal for his best mate to get beaten up by Rose, "we just talked about Quidditch. Weren't you listening?"

"Not to mention," said James, who was now facing Rose and trying to snatch his licorice wand back, but his drunken movements were too slow to catch a hold of it, "these meetings are required, Weasley, and I'm the captain! I'll decide when we meet and what we do at said meetings!"

"I can't believe I'm related to most of you nitwits!" Rose threw her weapon at James, who didn't even notice, and was still batting his hands around trying to take it from her.

"You're not allowed," said Lily, who had gotten in James' face and was pointing a finger accusingly at him, "to tell Mum and Dad that I'm drunk," she giggled a bit at the end.

"As if I would do that," said James with a haughty look, "they would only blame me. Not to mention you'd probably just hex my nose – you know – to sprout bat boogies," he made hand motions, illustrating exactly how they would fly out of his nose.

Lily giggled again and then hugged him, "I love you, arsehole."

"I love you, too." James said fondly.

"Aww," said Fred and Louis, who were holding their hands over their hearts. Evander was examining his shot glass again.

"Er, James?" said Lily, who suddenly realized that she was supporting all of his weight. James didn't answer. "Oi! Jamie!" he let out a light snore.

"He's passed out," Isla noted as she poked him in the cheek hard. He didn't even flinch.

"Finally," said Fred as he stood up. James falling into an unconscious state always signaled the end of the team meetings.

Under his weight and her own intoxication, Lily fell over, with James half on top of her. Fred and Evander rushed to help her. They hauled James off of her and then enchanted his body to float in the air in front of them so they could take him up to bed.

"I don't think that I can do this myself," said Isla, who was staring at her feet like she had no idea what to do with them. She had never been this drunk before ever.

"Let me help you, m'lady," said Louis. He came up behind her, knocked her legs out from under her and carried her bridal-style out of the Room of Requirement, following the rest of their team mates.

Isla yawned, "Thanks, Lou."

"You're welcome," he said, stumbling a bit and knocking her feet into the stone wall of the corridor. They both laughed.

"Shut up, you idiots!" hissed Rose, "Filch is only one staircase below us," she was holding her wand between her teeth, with the tip lit, illuminating the Marauder's Map that was in her hands as she led them back to Gryffindor Tower.

"She's so _bossy_," grumbled Louis. Isla smiled at him, but didn't laugh, not wanting to get reprimanded by Rose again. Isla wanted to stay on Rose's good side to help Scorpius. Once they reached Gryffindor Tower, Louis looked around in confusion. "I can't carry you up the stairs, love."

Isla tried and failed to stand on her own two feet. "Oh Merlin please tell me that I don't have to sleep on the couch all night!"

"Here," said Fred as he stepped toward them, "let me help," he raised his wand, and stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. A jet of purple light shot out and hit Louis. When Isla looked at him, she burst into hysterical laughter; he was a woman.

He very much resembled his sister, Dominique, only his hair stayed the same short messy length and his face looked only slightly more feminine. His body had developed feminine curves but his Quidditch muscles remained the same.

Evander broke into such huge guffaws that they were all surprised nobody came down to the common room to investigate. Fred and Evander were falling over each other in laughter, Rose was trying very hard not to chuckle, Lily was rolling on the floor, James was snoring in midair, Isla was bent over, holding her stomach as she laughed, and Louis was looking down at himself with a frown.

"Mate, did you transfigure me into a girl?"

"I did indeed," said Fred proudly.

Instead of looking appalled, Louis looked thoughtful. He said seriously, "Well, at least I'm a hot girl."

With a smirk at his friends, Louis picked up Isla again and carried her up the staircase, with Lily and Rose right behind them. "This room," Rose whispered to Louis and directed him into the fifth year girls' dormitory. Louis put Isla in her bed and fell onto it himself.

With all of the drama of the day forgotten, Isla Paddington fell into a peaceful sleep, sharing a bed with Louis, who had been too drunk to take himself to his own dormitory.

When she woke up the following morning, the first thing she noticed was that Louis was a boy again. During the night, Fred's impressive bit of transfiguration had worn off. Secondly, her head was pounding. Groaning, she pulled herself into a sitting position and realized that there was a vial of potion in her bed.

She picked it up to find a note wrapped around the bottle. The note read:

_Iz,_

_I thought you could use this hangover potion. Don't worry, I brewed it myself and didn't let Ryder anywhere near it. Take care of yourself._

_Your Favorite Brother,_

_Scorp_

Smiling, she uncorked the stopper and downed half of the thick potion in three swallows. Immediately, the pounding in her head stopped and she was able to fully function. Louis was sprawled out on top of the blanket, his mouth agape, and his hand on his stomach, under his shirt. Isla didn't have the heart to wake him, so she left him as she went to shower.

When she got out of the shower, she realized that all of her dorm mates (besides Rose) were gathered around her bed, staring at him. Carrie Brown and Jocelyn Brookes were whispering and pointing at him, and Roxanne was looking back and forth between Isla and Louis with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Iz, tell me that you didn't….not with _Lou_?" Roxanne sounded disgusted.

Isla laughed, "Of course not! Last night was the team drinking, remember? He just passed out there."

"How did he get up here?" asked Jocelyn in open curiosity.

"That," said Rose as she straightened her Gryffindor tie, "is quite a funny story, actually. Fred transfigured him into a girl."

"No!"

"What?"

"Hm, he does look kind of feminine, doesn't he?"

Louis woke up with a snort and blinked a couple of times at the girls around him before pulling on a smirk and saying, "Good morning, ladies. Would any of you happen to have a hangover potion on hand?"

They all shook their heads, but it was Isla who said with a sigh, "Yeah, I have half a bottle left over. Here you go. Your body weight is more than mine, obviously, but it should help at least." She handed him what she had left from the vial Scorpius had given her.

"Wow," exclaimed Louis after drinking every last drop, "that is the best hangover potion I've ever had. It worked immediately. Blimey, my head's perfectly clear! How did you make that, Iz?"

"Oh, you know," she lied easily, "just talented with Potions."


End file.
